Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
DL LOGAN LEE
Experience/age: Rookie, 24
Contract status: $850,018 cap hit in 2024, signed through 2027
The past: Lee started each of Iowa’s 41 games the past three seasons, accumulating nine sacks, 18 ½ tackles for loss, 158 total tackles and seven batted-down passes in that time. Having celebrated his second wedding anniversary this week, Lee at 24 years old is an experienced rookie. At 281 pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame, Lee is undersized relative to what the Steelers ideally look for in their defensive linemen. But with his lengthy resume in a pro-style defense at Iowa, the Steelers took a long look at him in the pre-draft process and ultimately selected him with the first of two sixth-round picks they had in this year’s draft at No. 178 overall.
It’s a position group at which the three of the four players who played most often in 2023 will enter this season with an average age of 31.3. #Steelershttps://t.co/5cSb2aLP5P
— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) May 9, 2024
2024 outlook: Lee immediately slotted into the d-line rotation over organized team activities and minicamp. The Steelers for years have been working to turn over that unit with youth. So, far, that has not truly materialized: two starters (Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi) are 35 and 30, respectively, and two others given signing bonuses in March and expected to be part of the active roster (Dean Lowry, Montravius Adams) will be 30 and 29, respectively, when camp opens. Of the recent draft picks on the defensive line, only second-year Keeanu Benton is assured to be on the 53-man (assuming health) when the regular season begins.
That leaves Lee as part of a group with 2021 fifth-rounder Isiahahh Loudermilk and 2022 third-rounder DeMarvin Leal fighting for position along with veteran Breiden Fehoko and a host of first-year players highlighted by longtime practice-squad member Jonathan Marshall.
Though Lee is the least experienced in the NFL among that grouping, he has a profile that suggests he will play much more veteran-like than he really is. Lee will probably never be a star, but he could carve out a long career with the Steelers.
